'Ask Kyle' questions answered: Why should I believe in the Detroit Lions this year?

ALLEN PARK -- Three emailers for this week's mailbag offered a similar message, which went a little something like this:

I've been a Lions fan for longer than you've been alive. All I've ever seen is losing. Why should this year be any different?

To which I say: [shrugs shoulders]

Detroit Lions wide receiver Terrence Austin is tackled by Cleveland's Trevin Wade, bottom, and L.J. Fort during a game last week.Associated Press

Really, what is there to say? The Lions' historic futility -- they still haven't been to a Super Bowl -- is well documented. And coming off a 4-12 season, they clearly remain a long way from the summit.

But there are reasons for hope, too, including Calvin Johnson. Detroit fans might be saddled with a regular loser, but at least they get to watch No. 81 on a weekly basis.

He'll be back in action Thursday night against the New England Patriots (7:30 p.m., WXYZ), both teams' third preseason game. Here's a mailbag to get you through until then, much of which reflects on the Lions' rough exhibition start and what it means:

I saw my first Lions game on a 10-inch black and white TV in 1952 against Cleveland for the NFL Championship. In 1953 and 1957 they were in the big game. I am now 71 and it is 56 years since they reached this level again. Not quite the Cubs, but close. Is there any reason I should think the Lions will ever reach the NFC championship game? Look at the teams that made it to the Super Bowl, sank to low levels, and came back to do it again. Giants, Steelers, Packers, 49ers, Raiders, Pats, Rams (from two cities). The Lions never even have come close. -- Len from New York

Lord have mercy on your soul, Len. And congratulations on remaining sane all these years!

Sarcasm aside, I think you nailed the frustration for many regarding this organization. It seems even the worst franchises have moments of brilliance, if only for a year or two. The Raiders come to mind, as well as the Rams and Vikings and a bunch of others, many of which you named.

Why can't the Lions have their chance? Just one? I mean, the Super Bowl started in 1966 for goodness sakes. Detroit couldn't luck into even one?

Of course, they had the 2011 playoff run -- but when you're celebrating only one playoff appearance in 13 years, and that one berth led to an immediate exit, you really don't have much to hang your hat on, do you?

To your question: Is there any reason to believe Detroit's fortunes will change? Well sure. We saw a glimpse of what it could be in 2011, when it all kind of came together on offense and the defensive line became a force.

And many of those same pieces remain. You have a strong quarterback in Matthew Stafford and a legitimate star in Calvin Johnson and a secondary weapon in Reggie Bush to spread the field. That trio gives Detroit enough firepower to compete in any game.

It's just a matter of whether the offensive line comes together to give those guys opportunities to do something, and whether the defense gets some stops along the way. I don't worry about the defensive line (Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley have been very good in camp), but the linebackers and secondary are weaknesses.

I can't get a feel for how well Ziggy Ansah is coming along. Do you feel he is going to be effective as an end, or will he be a project that needs to improve during the season and beyond? -- Chuck Brown

It can be hard to discern just how well young defensive linemen are progressing, mostly because what they're honing -- fundamentals, technique, system -- are often nuanced. But I can tell you, just from being around the team for a couple weeks now, that he's an improved player.

I thought he actually was better against the Browns than he was against the Jets, even without a pick-six, and Jim Schwartz confirmed that a couple days later. I asked a few players for specifics on what Ansah was doing better, and most noted the game is simply slowing down for him.

Reading between the lines, it seems Ansah blew a couple assignments in the opener but was much more consistent against Cleveland. You can read that story here.

Quick aside: Israel Idonije was a particularly good interview for that story. He's kind of a quiet guy in the locker room, but extremely sharp. I think Idonije will be a great influence for younger guys like Ansah and even Willie Young, who has a lot of gifts but has yet to put it together.

Does Schwartz's hesitance to name starters at several positions, namely the right side of the O-line and at OLB, hurt the development of these players and the cohesiveness of units? -- Jesse Roy

It's a good question, Jesse, and one I've posed around the locker room. Most guys say it's not a huge deal, and Schwartz has said he likes how job battles prepare multiple guys as starters at a position. The idea is when someone goes down, the backup will be more ready because he got first-team reps in camp.

Not sure how much I buy that, though, especially at offensive line. So much of that unit's success is predicated on chemistry. Put it this way: Whoever wins the right guard and tackle jobs will have received roughly half the first-team reps that most guys get around the league. That's that ideal.

Put it another way: How many of the league's best offensive lines still have two jobs totally open? Not many.

Rashean Mathis signed with Detroit on Friday, and could start Thursday at nickelback against the Patriots. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?Associated Press

One final point: It's amazing to me a guy like OLB Rocky McIntosh can be working out at his local neighborhood high school in Northern Virginia one day, practicing with the Lions the next and be vying for a job on the two-deep just a few days later. That speaks to a talent deficiency at that left-side spot.

Ditto for Rashean Mathis stepping in and, four days later, running with the ones at nickelback.

The Lions will say competition is good, and to a point it is. It's normal. But I say it's not ideal this late in training camp, especially at offensive line, and especially when it's guys coming off the street who are doing the competing.

The sky is falling, FYI...that much is certain. -- DetroitDann | I'm on the JUICE

You've been a Lions fan for a long time, huh?

Martin Mayhew stated his greatest mistake last year was counting on Jahvid Best returning to form. Will his greatest mistake this year be counting on an older Nate Burleson, who is coming off a broken leg, to be a quality starter as the No. 2 WR? -- Ionianative

The No. 2 receiver topic is one Justin Rogers and I have been tossing around for a few days now, after watching Detroit's wideouts struggle to gain separation throughout the preseason.

Burleson has enough veteran savvy in him to make some plays this year, especially with a megastar like Calvin Johnson also on the field to draw away attention. The addition of Reggie Bush should also help.

But after him, I do worry about the receivers. I don't see many gaining separation, in practices or games. They struggle. Simply put, they're just average receivers. They can catch a ball if it hits their hands, but they're relatively average in most other phases.

Receiver depth is a legitimate concern for this team.

Can't tell you how sick I am of the Packers and I ... live 20 minutes from the stadium. Anyway, for a Lions question: I am reading lots of concerns about the Lions' QB. I am not really feeling the concern at the moment. I see we have new OL guys in there and I was wondering if the playcalling is more based on grading out the play of the guys trying for starting spots instead of the overall play of the QB? -- Marvin Mulder

There are things you can take away from the preseason, and there are things you can't. Playcalling falls firmly into the latter category.

Coaches would give up their first-borns before they rolled out a full-deck of playcalls, so I wouldn't be concerned there. A lot of the calls are designed to get guys work who need it, either for personal development or so coaches can grade them. Reggie Bush is a good example of the former, and the offensive line the latter.

Matthew Stafford has not been sharp in the preseason, no doubt. But it's way too early to be worried about him.

Do you expect the team to continue to bring in new players even if we play well against New England? As teams trim their rosters (there) should be some veteran players that can if nothing else provide depth. Especially at WR, LB, and DB.

I'm not so sure about defensive back, but you nailed it with perhaps linebacker and for sure receiver. There are people around the team, for instance, who believe a guy like Matt Willis is in strong position to make the cut, but perhaps not last once other wideouts become available.

Give me one good reason why the Lions will have a winning record this year! their QB is an underachiever and overpaid, their offense is horrible with CJ and if he gets hurt the Lions could go winless! And their defense is worse than their offense, which stinks. I can see only about 3 wins this year. What do you think? -- NoCharacterJoe

If the Lions have a winning record -- and that's a huge if -- it will be because the offensive line came of age. That's it. I think there are enough pieces in place for this to be a winning team, with adding Bush to Matthew Stafford and Calvin Johnson on offense, plus that defensive line.

But if Bush doesn't have holes, and Stafford doesn't have time, the offense will flatten and the defense isn't nearly good enough to win games (on its own).

How many wins do I think are possible? From the talent I see on the practice field, seven is a good bet. Nine if things go right (like the offensive line) and maybe just five if the wheels come off.

Is Louis Delmas working out in any manner, running, sprints, tire drills, or has been held out completely? -- Canlion

Delmas has yet to practice on consecutive days, which should be telling. Saying Detroit is taking it cautious with him is like saying the ocean is wet.

When Delmas has been out there, he's flying. They don't let him go through contact right now, but he's in there for one-on-one drills and all that.

The biggest problem with Delmas right now is his recovery time after workouts. He told me this week that his knee "just isn't the same" as when he was younger. He just needs more time to recover from workouts, as the knee swells and gets sore.

That's why we haven't seen him practice on consecutive days.

Detroit is focused on getting Delmas on the field for the opener Sept. 8 against Minnesota, and I think that will happen. But just how many games he plays after that is the million-dollar question.

Going into this year with a rookie corner just like last year. Starting 3 new OL. What could possibly go wrong? -- HireWayne1

[nods]

We've heard all offseason how great the secondary has looked, particularly the corners. We've heard how they consistently get their hands on the ball and are the primary reason Stafford has looked less-than-awesome in practice. But then in the preseason, the secondary isn't showing any of the things we've read throughout camp. Is the WR corps actually very bad, and this prevents our CBs from getting properly challenged? Are these talented CBs practicing against inferior talent, causing them to be overmatched in game situations? -- ragnarok3

There might be a little bit of that going on, to be honest. I stepped into this job the week of the first preseason game, and thought the corners held their own, especially in one-on-drills, Calvin Johnson aside.

Then we've watched the secondary get lit up in the first two games, allowing Mark Sanchez, Geno Smith, Brandon Weeden and Jason Campbell to complete 80 percent of their passes and score four touchdowns. And those quarterbacks aren't exactly world-beaters with their arms.

On offense, I've been blown away looking down from the press box and seeing Detroit receivers covered all over the field. They've struggled to gain separation, outside of Johnson.

So given that, there is something to your thoughts. I think the receivers' struggles led us to believe the secondary was a little better than what's proven to be reality.

Now, I will also mention a couple things: The communication with the linebackers has been suspect, leading to breakdowns in coverage. That has nothing to do with physical talent, and (ideally) can be fixed.

Also, the corners haven't had the luxury of playing in games with safety Louis Delmas (knee). That's a much more formidable group when he's out there, with all due respect to Don Carey.

Factor in the rapid growth of rookie corner Darius Slay, who has replaced Ron Bartell on the first team, and it's possible you'll see development from the secondary before the opener. But no doubt it has disappointed thus far, with Tom Brady looming Thursday night.

Good luck, guys.

Stat of the day: Missed tackles by the Lions in the preseason: 19. Missed tackles by the Patriots in the preseason: 19. -- LogicalFallacy

Interesting stat, LogicalFallacy. But remember, there are three and sometimes four levels of players on the field in the preseason. I'd be curious to see how many of those missed tackles came from Detroit's two-deep, and New England's two-deep.

I'd bet an ice cream sandwich the Lions have more by a comfortable margin, especially after the meltdown in Cleveland.